Preserving Your Prom Flowers
Wesley Berry, AAF

For many young people, prom is the crowning event of their
teenage years. Everything about the night is magical and
they want to hang on to those memories. One of the most
special parts of the evening is the gorgeous corsage her
date chose with her and her lovely gown in mind. Those
memories are meant to last, and you can help by preserving
or drying her corsage so that it's almost as lovely as the
day she received it.

Among the most popular, tried, and true methods of
preserving flowers is pressing them. This is an easy and
effective method if you wish to place the flowers in a frame
or scrapbook. To press flowers, you'll need:

* Two pieces of corrugated cardboard.
* Several sheets of newspaper or white paper towels.
* A flat board.
* A heavy weight (bricks work nicely).

Once you've gathered the necessary materials, follow these
easy steps:

1. Place one sheet of cardboard on your work surface.
2. Lay several sheets of newspaper on top of the cardboard.
3. Arrange the flowers on top of the newspaper.
4. Place several more sheets of newspaper over the flowers.
5. Set the cardboard on top of the newspaper.
6. Place the board on top of the newspaper.
7. Put the weight on top of the board.

Place the flower press in a warm dry room and allow two to
three weeks. Check the flowers every two to three days and
change the papers to prevent molding and help the flowers to
dry more quickly.

Pressing works very well if you wish to yield
one-dimensional flowers in the end. However, if you'd like
your flowers to retain their shape, you'll need to try
another method, such as simple air-drying. To air dry your
flowers:

1. Secure the corsage to a hanger or hook so that it can
  hang loosely upside down.
2. Hang the flowers in a warm, dark, dry room.
3. Allow one to three weeks for complete drying.

These two methods are the most commonly used at-home methods
for preserving flowers, but there are several more. Other
methods include chemical drying, preserving with glycerin,
sand drying, and preserving with shellac. Some methods are
certainly more difficult and costly than others, so you
should do your research before embarking on this task. Ask
your florist if he or she has any other ideas, tips, or
services for flower preservation. With a little time and
effort, you can keep prom memories fresh forever.






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Wesley Berry is member of the American Academy of
Floriculture (AAF) and President of Wesley Berry Flowers,
a successful multi-million dollar floral business that
was established in 1946. He is also the developer of
http://www.LocalNewsDelivery.com a website that delivers
local news to over 40,000 communities across the country.
Recently he also launched a website providing information
about various places of worship ( http://www.local-worship.com)
throughout the United States. Visit Wesley Berry Flowers on
the web at http://www.800wesleys.com